Legacy: Of Irony and Iron Man
by RooC
Summary: Movieverse. Takes place between Iron Man and Iron Man II - Contains spoilers! Tony talked me through this one - there will be more chapters if he keeps yakkin' in my ear. Reviews and constructive feedback always appreciated.
1. Chapter 1 Of Irony and Iron Man

**Of Irony and Iron Man**

_*(Author's note: Contains Iron Man 2 spoilers)_

**_Reality Bites_**

There's a scene early on in the film _Reality Bites_ where Winona Ryder's over-achieving character is asked to define "irony" and fails to produce a workable definition. Needless to say she doesn't get the job and later Ethan Hawke's slacker character totally nails defining it.

That's irony right there, folks.

_"It's when the actual meaning is the complete opposite from the literal meaning." - Troy Dyer _

**_Irony Bites_**

It took me three months to figure out that the very thing that was keeping me alive was also slowly killing me.

After surviving two decades of dedicated self-abuse the irony alone should kill me.

I'd spent the majority of the past three months flying around the world on top secret "missions," going to places and talking to people that our government could not or would not accesss. The Iron Man suit and persona had given me enough power along with my own highly visible status as a billionaire CEO that I had managed to negotiate a treaty that the world's major super powers were on the verge of signing. The treaty would act as a de facto peace agreement. In essence I had managed to do the unthinkable: I'd privatized world peace.

And now I was more popular than ever before. Women wanted me. Men wanted to be me. Children played games pretending to be me. International political players and policy makers either loved, feared or respected me and I wasn't about to be picky about which they chose as long as I was getting the job done.

I'd been on the cover of every magazine from _Newsweek_ to _Paula Deen's Home Cooking_ (Kids around the world want to know what Iron Man eats to stay strong, y'all!) and I'd appeared on every talk show from _Leno _to _Oprah _and had made the rounds on every political and social analysis show that cable and network had to offer.

America loved me! Hell, the whole world loved me...

Which was why it was so inconvenient to find out that the palladium used to power my arc reactor (which powered my suit and also kept the shrapnel in my heart from killing me) was not only in drastically short supply but it was also slowly poisoning me.

Why didn't I find another element to power the reactor, you might ask?

I had in fact tried everything and anything and I could find and nothing. Nada. Zip. Not one God damned element or atom at my disposal was a workable replacement.

Life may be a cabaret, old chum... but reality does actually - when you get right down to it - bite.

**_Legacy_**

And so, on the eve of the signing of the East-West world peace treaty, I sat on my deck with a bottle of my favorite 25 year old single-malt and contemplated my own mortality.

How would I be remembered when I was gone?

Sure I'd done a lot of amazing things during my all-too-brief lifetime. I'd invented things that made the world a better place, not to mention a lot more fun. I'd put a dent in world hunger and helped bring about world peace. No small achievements there. I had partied with the best and brightest, provided endless fodder for the paparazzi and made love to countless beautiful women- some more than once. My reputation had ranged from infamous to famous and hit every stop in between. I'd even managed to make a few good friends along the way.

So how would I be remembered when my brief candle had gone out?

I thought about my dad - the Legendary Howard Stark - a man among men at a time when men were really men and Martinis were never made with vodka instead of gin.

Before my father's life came to a premature halt (thanks to a drunk driver, sure - but I now knew in my heart of hearts that Stane had been behind my parent's deaths) he was a real leader, a Captain of Industry who always had one eye on the Future. That's how Dad always said it. You could actually hear the capital F.

Dad really believed that the world of tomorrow would be a better world thanks to technology. He never stopped trying, regardless of set-backs and disappointments. Dad never lost faith. He was always thinking a step ahead and reaching for the Future he was sure was just beyond his fingertips and would one day be firmly within his grasp. And it wasn't enough for him to be making plans and working to create the world of tomorrow. Part of the reason he founded Stark Industries (and later created the Stark Expo) was to inspire and encourage those who shared his vision - the engineers and inventors and forward thinking leaders in the worlds of industry, technology and design – and he tasked them to help craft and create an amazing Future for all to share.

So that was Dad's legacy. He left me some mighty big shoes to fill.

As night bled the very last of the daylight from the sky I reached for the bottle beside my chair only to realize that it was empty and I was shit-faced. _Again._

Some Legacy.


	2. Chapter 2 Old Friends and Obligations

"Hey, Asshole."

Her tone is both a challenge and a greeting, full of a teasing bravado that few women could pull off in this crowd, let alone back up if push came to shove.

"Alecia. What a line. You know better than to come onto me like that." I wag a finger at her which she pretends to bite. "You're a married woman."

Of course few women are _this _woman. Alecia Moore from Doylestown, PA. Better known to the world as Pink.

Pink and I shared a very brief, very hot and very dirty attraction during her separation from her husband back in 2008. And by "attraction" I mean that we screwed each other stupid every chance we got for about two weeks, until it went bad. And by "bad" I mean as ugly as it gets this side of monkeys throwing feces.

I shouldn't have been surprised at the ugly way we went down in flames considering she hit me as hard as she could the night we met. Apparently "Hi, I'm Tony. Have we had sex yet?" is not an acceptable pick-up line. But in my own defense I couldn't remember if we had. And I had no idea a girl could hit that hard. I learned a lot from Alecia in a very short period of time.

Funny to run into her at the White House of all places after all this time.

"Congratulations on the Peace Treaty," she tells me and I give her a little "who me?" shrug and a grin. There is absolutely no trace of modesty in either.

"I'm just the muscle the world sees when America rolls up its sleeves."

She nods, liking the metaphor. "Why don't you call me sometime?" I raise a brow at that. "Lick my tatts, Stark. I'm serious. I'm working with some organizations that could really use - "

Alecia has always been a very dedicated advocate for her chosen causes but I've got requests for help piling up faster than Pepper can recycle the envelopes.

"Sorry. No can do." She's too close now. I can smell hummus on her breath. Heavy on the garlic. My eyes dart around the room looking for an escape route. I've never been a fan of tight crowds and too much pressing of random flesh without my express consent makes me claustrophobic. I spy Pepper at 3 o'clock, over by the bar, and begin to edge in that direction. "I mean, I _would _but I've already got world hunger and the common cold penciled in. Wouldn't be fair to bump them, even for you, Sugar Pants. You know how it is."

"Don't be a shit, Tony." Her dark eyes narrow at me and the air crackles around her suddenly seeming alive with electricity. This is the Pink I know and adore. This is the Pink I had some of the hottest dirtiest sex of my life with. It was a glorious two weeks.

But I'm already moving off, heading for Potts. "Call Pepper next week. Tell her I said to cut you a few checks. Half a mill each up to four of your choosing and as long as you don't pick anything too freaky you can tell her I said to have legal whip up a couple of press releases saying how Stark Industries is invested in supporting the Blah Blah Blah, okay?"

Her glare gives way to a sigh and a roll of the eyes. She knows me well enough that she shouldn't be surprised.

"Give my love to your old man - but no tongue."

The last I see of her before the crowd swallows her up is her beautifully manicured middle finger, held high above everyone's heads so that I cannot fail to see it. I can't help but be impressed. Pink got a manicure? The girl has really grown up!

Potts is sipping her martini as she watches me approach. I signal for one of my own before leaning in to tell her "You're late."

"Sorry, I - "

"You know I hate coming to these things..."

"... my dress and the _stupid _cleaners_..." _She's flustered and her hands move in the air describing her frustration.

I wait for the bartender to set down my martini before picking it up and taking a sip, my eyes continuing to take in the room all the while. "... I was cornered by the wife of some Senator and I had zero clue who she was. Then Pink started in on me about her charities..."

"Alecia's here?" Pepper's eyes scan the crowd eagerly. "I loved her last video. I should really ..."

"…You're supposed to be here to help me."

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't make them press my dress any faster. Besides, if this party is like all the rest I'll be the one doing the real networ -"

"You look amazing. Is that new lip gloss?" I take down my drink in two gulps and fish out the speared onions.

"What did you say?" Big blue eyes come back to me, a little wide with surprise. "Did you just ask me about my lip gloss?"

"Yes. I haven't seen you wear that one before. Do you know if there's dancing after dinner? We haven't danced in a while." I chew the onions thoughtfully while giving her an easy once over. She really does look gorgeous. If I wasn't dying I might do something about it.

"No. No way." She's shaking her head. Even takes a tiny step back and bumps into the man behind her who gives her a smile and gets an apology in return. "I've told you before. No dancing. It gives people the wrong impression"

"For old time's sake?" I give her my most adorable tilt of the head but Pepper is doing her best impression of being an immovable object.

Last time she gave me that argument - the one about how it looks to other people, I honestly had my head too far up my own ass to understand what she was concerned about. I've done some growing up since then. And truth be told? Pepper is the one who networks the fund-raiser all night and once I'm good and lubricated Rhodey slips me out before I can make a scene and disgrace myself in the President's house.

Outside Happy is waiting with the car and I'm content to fall into the big back seat and doze as we slip silently through the streets of our nation's noble capitol city.


	3. Chapter 3 Escape From New York

From DC we flew to New York to check on the progress of the Expo.

The original 16 structures Dad built were still in great shape but most hadn't been used since the one in '74. Many of them needed to not only be brought up to current code but, due to the requirements of working with advanced technologies, needed to exceed them. There was a lot to do to get ready to open the Expo on my chosen target date of May 8th, 2010

Pepper had been working with our special events division, overseeing a collection of local contractors and our PR team to organize the exhibitors, guest speakers and sponsors needed to make my dream a reality.

The fact that we had the added pressure of trying to pull off a massive long term public event in four months instead of two years just made it that much more "exciting." At least that's what I kept telling Potts. So far she seemed to think that exciting was code for impossible, but every time she thought we'd hit a roadblock that we couldn't get around we managed to find a way to make it work.

Iron Man as an entity had already received a ridiculous number of sponsorship and endorsement requests and so far I had refused them all. God knows I didn't need the money and it was beyond important to me that Iron Man retain his autonomy. The technology that powered the suit was mine - that I had no intention of sharing. As far as I was concerned I would take the plans for the mini-AR to my grave. It would have been much too easy to abuse the technology and Obadiah had taught me a valuable lesson about keeping secrets safe.

Besides, as a free agent Iron Man was under contract to no one and therefore could not be compromised. The suit had become a part of me. I was Iron Man and Iron Man was me. But there was no harm in some simple image licensing deals to keep him in the public eye and consciousness. And the kids loved him - who didn't want to suit up in some plastic and practice being one of the good guys?

So it made sense to create partnerships with a few hand-picked corporations for the sake of the Expo and image sustainability.

"How do you want to do this?" Pepper was scrolling through screens on her StarkHB Pad.

"Well, we could get a daisy and do the whole 'I love you-I love you not' thing." I give her a wide placid smile and she gives me a glare in return. It's been a long day and even Pepper's legendary poise is starting to wear a little thin. _"Or..." _I use my finger to stir the ice cubes around in the last dregs of scotch in my glass. "You could read me the new and improved version of the list the PR team sent over and I could just say 'Yes' or 'No."

That's met with a sigh, which is at least an improvement over her glare. "Fine." Her stylus moved over the holo-screen.

"Why are you still using the old HoloPad?"

"The new one doesn't come out until it debuts at the Expo, remember? I believe you wanted to release it in June so that it would be available in time for back-to-school shopping."

"That's for everyone else." I shake my head at her. "Not you. You're special."

"I'm special." She repeats this as if she doesn't believe a syllable of it.

"Yes, you are. Not like short-bus special. Special-special."

"Special special?" A perfect brow crooks over her big blue eyes. "Like an Afterschool Special?"

"Miss Potts! Are you smirking?" I lean closer to inspect the curl of her lips, beaming like a proud papa. "My god, you are smirking! I'm so proud of you. And if you're referencing the ABC Afterschool Specials then it must mean that you know that every one of them had a 'very special lesson'. Which in your case is to speak up when your tech-resources are outdated so I can get you all the latest and greatest."

"Because I'm _special."_

"Exactly." I drain the last of my drink and get up to get a fresh one, chewing on an ice cube as I pour.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark."

"You're ever so welcome Miss Special Potts."

"Right. Okay. Now that we've got that item addressed... The list?" she prods with a polite but slightly weary smile. "I still have to make the confirmation call to legal and then I have a dinner meeting."

"Tsk-tsk. All work and no play makes Pepper Potts- "

"Extremely busy. So if you don't mind?" This time her smile is a little less patient.

"Hit me." I lean back on the couch in my suite and close my eyes before I can see how much she'd like to do just that.

"Don't tempt me. Audi?"

"Yes, but I want a new toy."

She sighs but doesn't comment.

"LG?"

"Yes. Every great idea needs a great light bulb, don't you think? It's symbolic." I don't have to look to know that she's rolling her eyes. "Besides, they're bringing out some great energy efficient... why am I justifying this? Just yes."

We continue to work down the list and I toss out anything that doesn't fit the image I'm looking to build for the Expo. We're promoting a few of our own subsidiaries - Accutech, Fujikawa, CordCo and Royal Purple by giving them special permanent displays in namesake pavilions around the site. They are soon joined by Oracle, Kodak, Norton Symantec and Turk Telecom along with the others I've already approved.

"Who gets the fast food concession?"

"Remind me which of the popular boys asked us to the Prom?"

"The big four -McDonald's, Burger King, Jack In the Box and Wendy's." She doesn't even need to read them off. "I think we should go for Wendy's. They have more healthy options and - "

"Square burgers, Potts? That's practically un-American." I shake my head. "Burger King. Home of the flame-broiled Whopper. What could be more American than that? Besides, I like the whole trial by fire aspect of flame broiling. Have them come up with some marketing, maybe do an ad where the Burger King meets Iron Man or something. Besides, they have Dr. Pepper. In fact, give Dr. Pepper a pavilion, too. You know how much I like that blend of 23 flavors, none of which taste like prunes, no matter what the urban legends say."

Pepper rolls her eyes again.

"You know, if you went to med school you'd be _Doctor Pepper ..."_

Working at that rate it takes us another 15 minutes to confirm Reese's and 7-11 who have been begging me to let them do an Iron Man Slurpee promotion which I agree to as long as I can get a set of the collectible cups and straws. What the hell, life is short (mine is looking considerably shorter at the moment) and you only live once, right?

I watch Pepper check her watch then gather up her things. "Is there anything else you need from me before I go?"

"Who are you having dinner with?" I challenge, following her to the door of my suite. "One of the board members?" She blushes and I realize that I've caught her in a lie. "Do you have a _date?" Potts refuses to meet my eyes for another second then she's shaking her head and meeting my gaze._

"Don't look at me like that." Her voice is soft and maybe a little guilty. She clears her throat and squares her shoulders. "I hate when you look at me like that."

"I hate it when you have a date," I toss back.

"I'm off the clock. I'm allowed to have whatever personal life I can carve out..."

"What if I need something?" Why does it make my heart sink to know that she's going out with another man?

"Call the Concierge." Her tone is flippant, her smile firm. She opens the door and tries to leave.

I stop her with a hand on the door. "What if I need _you?"_

It's a ridiculous question, really. I'm her boss, not her boyfriend and if I really love her at all then it makes no sense to start something with her when I conceivably have very little time left on this planet to spend with anyone. Nevermind the cruelty of getting involved long term with anyone I might really care about given my situation.

"You'll be fine," Pepper assures me. But she's wrong. There are days I know that nothing will be right.

And there are other days, days that seem to be getting more common where I just sort of go Tom Cruise in _Risky Business _and say "What the fuck" and suck every drop of living I can out of the days and nights at hand.

Which is how I ended up wasted and tied to a bed at the Sherry Netherland being shall we say _"presided over?" _by a local young lady who turned out to be the 17 year old daughter of a very influential Judge.

I maintain, your Honor, that it wasn't my fault. I met her in a bar and she had an excellent fake ID. If she could fool a professional doorman how could I be expected to know she couldn't even a legally vote?

It was clearly time to escape from New York.


End file.
